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Over 300,000 Prometheus monitoring servers and exporters are exposed to various attacks, including information disclosure, denial-of-service (DoS), and potential remote code execution. These vulnerabilities stem from improper authentication and insecure configurations, allowing attackers to steal sensitive information such as credentials and API keys. The widespread exposure highlights the need for better security practices in Prometheus deployments and the critical nature of securing monitoring infrastructure.

The GNU Boot project, dedicated to creating a fully free software bootloader, has recently experienced several incidents involving the discovery and subsequent removal of non-free software components. These incidents highlight the ongoing challenges in maintaining a completely free software ecosystem and the importance of community involvement in identifying and mitigating such issues. The affected components were not actively used by GNU Boot, preventing any impact on supported devices, but their presence triggered re-releases and prompted calls for community assistance in contacting affected distributions.

This news discusses the security implications of iOS 18’s inactivity reboot feature. The automatic reboot after 72 hours of inactivity is intended to enhance security by mitigating the risk of unauthorized access, data theft, and other cyber threats. This feature aligns with U.S. NSA security recommendations, reducing the window of opportunity for malicious actors to exploit inactive devices.

A new feature called digital attestations has been released on PyPI, the Python Package Index, to bolster supply chain security for Python packages. These attestations essentially function as digital signatures, cryptographically linking packages published on PyPI to the specific source code used for their creation, thus offering stronger assurance that packages downloaded from PyPI haven’t been tampered with or injected with malicious code. This feature utilizes a mechanism that proves a trustworthy build system was used to generate and publish the package, starting with its source code on GitHub. This development significantly enhances the reliability and trust in Python package distribution by providing concrete evidence of package origin and authenticity, mitigating risks associated with malware injection or tampering within the Python ecosystem. While this feature is already available to those using the PyPI Trusted Publishers mechanism in GitHub Actions, a new API has been introduced for consumers and installers to verify published attestations, allowing for broader adoption and increased confidence in package provenance across the Python community.

O2, a telecommunications company, has launched an AI-powered tool named “Daisy” designed to combat phone scams. Daisy simulates a real-life grandmother who engages scammers in lengthy, meandering conversations, wasting their time and potentially disrupting their operations. The tool is powered by AI and trained on a vast dataset of real-world interactions with scammers, enabling Daisy to respond realistically and effectively. By engaging scammers in lengthy conversations, Daisy aims to deter them from targeting potential victims and disrupting their efforts. This innovative approach to combating scams leverages AI to provide a valuable service to consumers.

Ilya Lichtenstein, the individual behind the 2016 Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange hack, was sentenced to five years in prison for money laundering by the US Department of Justice. Lichtenstein and his wife, Heather Morgan, stole over 119,000 Bitcoin, worth approximately $10.5 billion at the time of the theft. The stolen cryptocurrency was laundered through a complex network of transactions, using various techniques to obfuscate the origins of the funds. The investigation by the DOJ involved tracing the movement of the stolen Bitcoin through various exchanges and wallets, ultimately recovering a substantial portion of the stolen assets. This case highlights the evolving tactics of cybercriminals and the need for improved security measures within the cryptocurrency industry.